Battlefield V’s first update has been delayed

If you read my Battlefield V review you will have noted that numerous pieces of content had been held back at launch to be released as free downloadable content on December 4th (which is today, of course). Well, as the day of the update has come around, DICE has announced that the update is delayed until further notice due to a technical issue.

The update, which is the first part of the games Tides of War service, will be titled Chapter 1: Overture, and was intended to add the Practice Range, a new multiplayer map entitled Panzerstorm, and a fourth (and very much needed) War Story titled The Last Tiger, which will put players in the shoes of a Nazi soldier in control of a German Tiger 1 tank.

DICE announced news of the delay over on the Battlefield V Twitter page, noting that they have found an issue with the update and have therefore decided to hold it back rather than causing issues with the game. Thankfully, it appears that DICE are pretty confident that the update shouldn’t be delayed for too long, although they didn’t go as far as confirming when the update will finally drop.

The team has discovered an issue with the #Battlefield Chapter 1: Overture update. Rather than create issues in the game, we’re holding the update for the time being. We don’t anticipate a long delay and we’ll be back with more news tomorrow or as soon as we have it. pic.twitter.com/bc6xlWPc8e

Although it’s the right decision from DICE to hold the update back rather than causing issues for players, I can’t help but see this as further proof that the game simply was not ready to be released yet. Not only does the game itself severely lack both polish and content (I finished the single player portion in just over three hours), but now the first major update has been delayed on the day that it should be released. I can’t help but think that EA are pushing DICE to meet unrealistic deadlines because Christmas is approaching rather than giving priority to the quality of the game. As great as Battlefield V is, it would have benefited majorly from being held back for a further few months of polish and bug-fixing.

Chris is our resident FPS-obsessed football fanatic who—when not playing an FPS or FIFA—can probably be found spending the odd 100 hours or so building his perfect farm on Stardew Valley. Chris has grown up on gaming and loves nothing more than to discuss them with his fellow gamers and hear their opinions, before stubbornly arguing with them until they agree with his. Chris comes to you with a hint of cynicism and plenty of sarcasm.